Total dwellings sold in New Zealand increased in 2014, marking its strongest December sales level since 2006 and the second strongest December on record, data from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand showed Thursday.
Residential sales climbed 24.2 percent year-on-year to 7,061 in December. However, on a monthly basis, sales dropped 4.7 percent from November.
Meanwhile, the national median house prices declined 1.3 percent month-over-month to $45,000 and on an annual basis, house prices rose by $23,000, or 5.4 percent.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the national median house price was up 0.2% compared with November and 4.7% compared to December 2013.
Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) Chief Executive Helen O'Sullivan says, "The data for December shows very strong sales growth compared to 12 months ago and a much higher level of sales that we would normally expect for the final month of the year"
"The effect has been seen right across the country, with a number of regions seeing further increases in sales in December after a strong November. The normal December slow down hasn't really happened in 2014," he added.
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